Auxiliary refrigerator shelf



2 Sheetls-Sheef. 1

28 Peter .4 Toronto IN VEN TOR.

P. A. TORCNTC AUXILIARY REFRIGERATOR SHELF Oct. 26, 1954 Filed March 22, 1951 1954 P. A. TORONTO AUXILIARY REFRIGERATOR SHELF 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 22. 1951 Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 5

Peter A; Toronto JNVENTOR.

Many 3m Patented Oct. 26, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUXILIARY REFRIGERATOR SHELF Peter A. Toronto, Hempstead, N. Y. Application March 22, 1951, Serial No. 216,926

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an attachment for a refrigerator. I

An object of this invention is to provide a shelf in arefrigerator, either as standard equipment or as an attachment to be installed on existing structure, the device comprising a panel arranged for swinging, pivotal movement within the refrigerator and operable through the door opening of the refrigerator whereby upon opening of the door, the panel which is spring urged, moves outwardly so that various articles may be placed thereon when the refrigerator is being cleaned or the articles in the refrigerator being rearranged, thus avoiding the necessity of placing the articles on the floor, a chair, a table or even on top of the refrigerator.

Ancillary objects and features of importance will become apparent in following the description of the illustrated forms of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a standard refrigerator having the attachment or, the original equipment, depending upon when the device is applied to the refrigerator, therein;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of a part of the refrigerator showing the attachment applied;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the panel, bracket and means of connecting the bracket and panel together;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view showing a modification of the spring for urging the panel in the open position; and

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Although the device has heretofore been referred to as an attachment or original equipment, the device may be either. Accordingly, for facility, the instant specification will refer to the device as an attachment inasmuch as it is an attachment which may be supplied as original and standard equipment or may be attached to existing refrigerators.

In the drawings there is a fragmentary part of a standard refrigerator including the box Ill, door l2, shelves [4, l6 and It, the shelves being supported by standard hooks 20 and as disclosed in Figure 1, the device is located within the refrigerator box l0 and includes a panel 22, preferably of a transparent material, as glass or plastic, which is adapted to swing outwardly through the door opening of the refrigerator. The panel 22 (Figure 6) is quadrant shaped and is located in a frame 24, the frame including two legs which are joined together at right angles with respect to each other and which have channels formed therein to accommodate the panel 22. A pair of spaced plates 26 and 28 constitute a part of the frame 24 and they have aligned apertures 30 therein through which the pivot pin 32 is adapted to pass. This pivot pin extends through aligned apertures 34 which are formed in the legs 35 and 36 of a U-shaped mounting bracket 38, this mounting bracket being adapted to be located below one of the shelves, for example the shelf l8 of the refrigerator and held in place by means of the heads of the screws 40 and 42 which overlie a part of the wire frame l8 adjacent to its connection with the hooks 20. Inasmuch as the pivot pin 32 extends through the apertures 34 and also the apertures 30, the frame 24 and accordingly the panel 22 is mounted for pivotal movement about the longitudinal axis of the pin 32. Inasmuch as the bracket 38 is arranged to be located adjacent to one side of the refrigerator box, the panel will swing outwardly and inwardly through the door opening of the refrigerator. In order to provide a bearing surface for the bottom of the wire frame of the shelf 18, a bearing panel 44 of suitable and attractive material, for example commercial plastic, rubber or the like is fastened to the top of the leg 35 of the bracket 38 by standard means, as cementing.

A lower panel of a shape similar to the shape of the pane1 22 and of the same material, is fixed to the bottom leg 36 of the bracket 38 and held in place by the nuts (Figure 6) which are supplied on the pivot pin 32 and the screws 40 and 42. Since the shelf panel 22 is adapted to swing outwardly of the refrigerator door opening, a means is provided for the purpose of preventing this movement. This means comprises a latch 52 mounted by means of a pin 54 for pivotal movement and arranged to swing to such position as to overlie a part of the frame 24, thereby preventing movement of the panel 22 outwardly of the refrigerator with respect to the lower panel 50.

There is a pusher 56 fixed to the door 12 by suitable means, as self-tapping screws, the pusher 56 being located in horizontal alignment with the frame 24 and its panel 22. The pusher may be of any shape found desirable, the illustration being a substantially U-shaped bracket with one leg thereof being fastened to the door and the other leg thereof serving as a contact member for the frame 24.

Although the device, that is, the panel 22 with its frame 24, may be operated manually, it is preferred that the panel be pushed outwardly by the resiliency of the leaf spring 60 or by the resiliency of the coil spring 62, the specific springs 60 and 62 providing the basis of two illustrated variations of the invention. The leaf spring 60 is fastened, by screws, rivets or the like to the front surface of one leg of the frame 24 and the other end of the leaf spring 60 is located in a recess or relieved portion 66 in the other leg of the frame 24 adjacent to the junction of the legs. Due to the inherent resiliency of the leaf spring 60, the end which is located at least partially within the recess 66 bears against the web por tion 68 of the bracket 38 thereby placing the panel 22 and its frame 24 under a spring load constantly urging the panel 22 and its bracket 24 outwardly through the door opening of the refrigerator box I0. Therefore, when it is not desired to use the device, the latch 52 which comprises an arm pivoted intermediate its ends, is operated to such position that it overlies a part of the frame 24 preventing the spring 60 from pushing the panel 22 and its frame 24 outwardly of the refrigerator. However, to allow the spring 60 to function as a motor, the latch 52 is moved to such position as to be freed from the frame 24. Under these conditions, the frame 24 with its panel 22 is returned to its position within the refrigerator box by the pusher 56.

Attention is now invited primarily to Figures 7 and 8. In this instance the mounting bracket 12 is substantially U-shaped including parallel legs 14 and 76 connected together by a web portion, the web portion extending considerably beyond the parallel legs 14 and 16 so as to provide sufficient surface and stock to accommodate the screws '18 whereby the bracket 12 may be fastened directly to the side of the refrigerator within the box thereof. The panel frame 24, when used with this type of mounting, has a downwardly opening aperture therein to accommodate one end of the spring 62, the other end being anchored in an aperture which is provided in the spring housing 80, this housing being held fastened to a mounting bracket 12 by means of the hinge pin or pivot pin 82 which is passed through aligned openings in the bracket parallel legs 14 and 16, the frame 24 and through the central passage of the coil spring 62. The operation of this form of the invention is precisely the same as the described operation in connection with the embodiment of Figure 2.

Although only two embodiments of the invention has been described and illustrated, it is apparent that various departures and variations may be made and certain mechanically skillful acts resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having described the invention, claimed as new is:

In combination with a refrigerator box, an auxiliary shelf comprising a shelf panelwith a frame thereon, a bracket provided with means for suspending the bracket from a refrigerator shelf in a fixed position within the refrigerator box, said bracket having parallel legs between which said frame is located, a pivot pin connecting said parallel legs to said frame thereby mounting said panel for pivotal movement, a spring operatively connected to said mounting bracket and said frame constantly yieldingly urging said panel outwardly of the refrigerator box, a lower panel located below the first mentioned panel and secured to one of said bracket legs, and a latch for the first mentioned panel carried by said lower panel to hold the first mentioned panel within the refrigerator box, said suspending means including 'a resilient bearing panel resting upon the other leg of said bracket.

what is References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 509,773 Simmons Nov. 28, 1893 517,031 Conde Mar. 27, 1894 699,956 Johnson May 13, 1902 1,810,534 Rubin June 16, 1931 2,074,546 Hartman Mar. 23, 1937 2,095,811 Goulooze Oct. 12, 1937 2,129,923 Frankel Sept. 13, 1938 2,263,782v Landsberg et a1. Nov. 25, 1941 2,558,602 Atchison June 26, 1951 

